


Fish on The Land Ain't Happy

by SerenityShadows



Series: Tail's up! [2]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Dextrocardia (Heart on right side of body), F/M, M/M, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Season 3 AU, TW: Person being shot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-07-02
Updated: 2015-06-07
Packaged: 2017-12-16 20:09:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/866114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SerenityShadows/pseuds/SerenityShadows
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>So this has been rattling around in my head forever. Eventually, when I finish it completely, I'll make it into a big oneshot but for now, since I only seem to have inspiration for this at work, I'm going to post each little tid-bit as I write them so y'all can enjoy them as I go. Please have patience with this one, guys. :D</p><p>Also, there a slight triggers for those who don't like character death (temporary or otherwise) and for people who don't like guns but it really only happens in this chapter. The other ones get better, I swear. </p><p>P.S It makes a little bit better sense if you read Hands or Tails or first but this can be read without it if you'd rather not. It's just the story of how Stiles' Parents met. ;D Love me some Mama Stilinski!</p>
    </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this has been rattling around in my head forever. Eventually, when I finish it completely, I'll make it into a big oneshot but for now, since I only seem to have inspiration for this at work, I'm going to post each little tid-bit as I write them so y'all can enjoy them as I go. Please have patience with this one, guys. :D
> 
> Also, there a slight triggers for those who don't like character death (temporary or otherwise) and for people who don't like guns but it really only happens in this chapter. The other ones get better, I swear. 
> 
> P.S It makes a little bit better sense if you read Hands or Tails or first but this can be read without it if you'd rather not. It's just the story of how Stiles' Parents met. ;D Love me some Mama Stilinski!

            When Stiles imagined his death, he always pictured himself as an old man, dying in his sleep next to the person he loved.  Sometimes it was Lydia by him and other times it was Danny. Yeah the whole sexuality he’d come to terms with after Danny had come out in freshman year of high school.  Really care he didn’t about the gender so much as the being in love thing. Anyway, not to get sidetracked. He wanted to die a peaceful death. After he got Scott bit, in his weaker moments, he envisioned a lot of horrible and gruesome deaths.  Thank you, ADD. Of all of those, a lot of them have been him running through the woods and getting killed in various ways by whatever the creature of the week was. None of them had ever been to a random thief with a pistol, who would corner him while he was out training for cross country.

            Figures with all of the supernatural crap that had infiltrated his life, it would be something so stupidly human that would get him in the end.  As he laid there gasping for breath, body half in the Water of the old Hale Lake, he couldn’t help but snort, immediately wincing as it jostled the bullet in his chest.  Stiles really hated being the rational one of the pack as he knew that was no way he could get help without causing more damage. The thief had stolen everything, his phone, his wallet, and his ipod. He truly was alone. Strangely enough, he really didn’t feel the pain anymore which he knew wasn’t a good sign. He stared up at the tree canopy, noticing how beautiful it was.  He cracked a smile. His parents would have loved it here. He took a shuddering breath as he thought about his dad, how much this would hurt him. 

 _Derek, you’d better take care of him_. He cursed at the Alpha, thinking about all the thing he never go to tell him.   

           “I love you.” He whispered, still staring at the trees. A gentle breeze blew over the lake, scattering surface of the water and bringing the scent of damp earth and a beautiful scent that he had only ever smelled on his mother.  He took a deep breath and it soothed him, reminding him of her.  The water around him was warm like she had been. It almost felt like she was there again hugging him and making him feel safe.  He could almost feel her hands rubbing at his skin and urging him into the water. He took a deep breath and let it out and let himself fall into peace. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Mom, am I de-?” he trailed off, choking on a sob.
> 
> She took him into her arms, cradling him. “No, baby. You’re just dreaming.” She said, comforting him. “It’s kinda hard to kill a Stilinski.”  
> He chuckled weakly at her but frowned soon after “But, the gun. It was over my heart.”
> 
> She smiled sadly at him. “There is so much you have yet to learn, my little guppy. Your heart is not here,” she laid a hand on his left side right over where the bullet would have gone in then moved it over to where a strange throbbing was on the right side. “It’s here.”
> 
> He smiled at the old nickname and grimaced when a burning sensation began to travel through from her fingertips and into his body, ricocheting through it.
> 
> “Mama, what’s happening to me?” he asked starting to writhe in her arms.  
> She pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead and the pain faded away momentarily. 
> 
> “Becoming who you truly are, Styx. You need to wake up now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I apologize for the extremely short first chapter. It was like the prologue and rattled around my head for awhile. I honestly thought it was longer than it was. *shrugs* 
> 
> Anyway,
> 
> Here's chapter two. Hope y'all like it. I have a design made for Stiles Mer-Form, you can find it here: :D http://serenityshadows-2.tumblr.com/post/54712069338/so-this-is-for-my-merman-stiles

_“Stiles.” A voice like gentle waves lapped over him.  “It’s time to wake up sleepyhead.”_

_“Mom?” he asked opening his eyes and seeing her face._

_She smiled at him, brushing a hand through his hair. She looked as beautiful as she did before her sickness took her away from them. He hugged her tightly, feeling water welling up in his eyes._

_“Mom, am I de-?” he trailed off, choking on a sob._

_She took him into her arms, cradling him. “No, baby. You’re just dreaming.” She said, comforting him. “It’s kinda hard to kill a Stilinski.”_

_He chuckled weakly at her but frowned soon after “But, the gun. It was over my heart.”_

_She smiled sadly at him. “There is so much you have yet to learn, my little guppy. Your heart is not here,” she laid a hand on his left side right over where the bullet would have gone in then moved it over to where a strange throbbing was on the right side. “It’s here.”_

_He smiled at the old nickname and grimaced when a burning sensation began to travel through from her fingertips and into his body, ricocheting through it._

_“Mama, what’s happening to me?” he asked starting to writhe in her arms._

_She pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead and the pain faded away momentarily._

_“Becoming who you truly are, Styx. You need to wake up now.”_

_“Mom?”_

_She smiled again giving him a hug. “Wake up.” She began to fade away._

_“MOM!”_

_“Wake up, St_ -“

 

************

“-iles, oh god, stiles, Please wake up!”

 _Dad_? he tried to open his eyes but it was like they were crusted shut.

“Dad?” He croaked out. He felt his dad’s head slump onto his chest and heard his sigh of relief.

“Oh my god, Stiles. Don’t you ever scare me like that again.”

Stiles finally managed to open his eyes and the saw that he that was back home. _Total WTF moment._ He thought right before the burning came back two-fold.

“Fuck.” He cursed hunching in on himself, displacing his dad.

“Stiles.” His dad’s worried face came into view. “What’s going on? Tell me what you need.”

“Water.” Stiles groaned, feeling like his throat was being torn to shreds and his skin would crack open with every movement. “Need Water.”

Almost immediately, he felt a cup at his lips and he drank it down greedily. It soothed his throat a bit to where he felt he could breathe again.

 _Shower_ a soft voice whispered, dancing in his ear. _Got to the shower._

“Dad.” He gasped out. “Shower.”

In the painful haze he was in, it felt like torture getting up the stairs but he suffered through it, biting his lip. They stumbled into the bathroom and he pretty much tore at his jogging clothes to get them off. Normally, the fitted red shirt and black running ants were really comfortable but there was something about them now that felt fake and cheap and he had to get them off. He fell to his knees and crawled into the tub, wrestling with his shirt which was tangled around him.

“Stiles.” The Sheriff said sternly, and with the voice he was using, Stiles meant the Sheriff and not his dad. “I need you to be honest with me. What did you take?”

Stiles shook his head, trying to force the words out but the burning had made its way up into his throat.

“Stiles! I know what withdrawal looks like. What the hell did you take?” His dad shouted, worry and anger mixing on his face as he turned the water on full blast.

Stiles let out a groan the second the water hit him, feeling the sensation recede enough for him to speak. “No.” He said wheezing still wrestling with his shirt. “No drugs.”

“Shit, Stiles don’t lie to me.” His dad said ripping his shirt to check for needle tracks. His eyes went wide seeing the gunshot wound. “Stiles.” He breathed, eyes filling up with tears. “What happened to you?”

Stiles bit his lips again and grabbed the older man’s hand. “Running. Robbed. Gun. Lake Hale. Saw Mom.” He grimaced as the burning increased in his legs and throat. “Called me Styx.”

His dad face went lax in shock but he still gripped firmly at his son’s hand.

“Are you sure she said Styx?”

Stiles nodded, squeezing his hand to the point of nearly breaking a bone. Alek pulled his son into his chest, laying his free hand over the right side of his body checking one last thing and it was confirmed as he felt a beat. “Stiles. I need you to just breathe okay? I know it feels like agony but it’s going to be okay. Just breathe, son. I’m here.”

“Dad, it hurts.” Stiles sobbed into his arms.

Alek grimaced, feeling useless since he couldn’t help his son with this. “I know. It’ll be over soon. I promise.”

Eventually, the pain got so bad he began trying to twist out of his dad’s grip. Darkness began to rise again over his eyes and Stiles once again fell into it.

Alek just held on tighter, even when Stiles passed out because his body was still fighting himself, until his son finally went limp and his breathing evened out. Alek could only watch as three slanted cuts appeared on both sides of his neck right above where it met his shoulder. Stiles’ skin went even paler than his normal shade then flushed with a golden haze and the light traveled down to his legs. They slowly slide next to each other and the light covered them, fusing them until they were one solid length. Golden-Brown scales began to pattern themselves over the light and it slowly traveled the length of his legs, scales following, until it reached his toes. When the light made it there, his toes lengthened and flattened, becoming a beautiful fan-like fin. Eventually the light, having spread throughout the nearly translucent fin, traveled back up his son’s tail and settled around his neck forming a leather cord and a fish scale the same color as his eyes and tail.

It matched almost perfectly with one hanging around his own neck. He reached under his shirt and pulled his out. He kissed the scale then joined hands with Stiles, waiting for his little boy to wake up again.  


	3. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys so obviously this isn't a new chapter. Sorry for the false alert. I just wanted to let y'all know that I do have chapter three already written and am now working on chapter 4. I'm currently on vacation right now and the Internet here is pretty spotty considering we have to use a mobile hot spot. I'll try to get it uploaded if I can and if not, y'all may be getting two chapters instead of just one!
> 
> Edit: 
> 
> Have I ever mentioned how much i love my mommy? She has a wifi hotspot :D I can't stay on too long but I have just enough time to upload the true chapter three. Wnjoy.
> 
> Chapter four is currently bein typed up and small teaser, are there size charts for Speedos? lol

Stiles didn’t really wake up. He would describe it more as jerking into awareness. One second, he was swimming in a deep black inkiness that was surprisingly warm and the next he was staring at the light blue tiles sprinkled with green flakes that his mom had picked for the family bathroom.

“Colors of the sea.” He said with a fond smile. A soft snore had him glancing to his right and he smiled even more seeing his father, right before noticing the way he’d fallen asleep and wincing.

“Dad,” he said pulling on his hand which was laced with his. “Dad.”

“Wha-?” the older Stilinski jerked awake himself and locked eyes with him. “Stiles! Are you okay?”

He nodded, pulling himself up higher in the tub.

 “Well, I feel like I haven’t slept for a week so I’m like really wired and spastic so I should probably take like two extra doses of Adderall over the week so I don’t keep doing the whole word vomit thing which you know ew, I don’t know why people call it that because it sounds so gross and it’s totally not like that. It’s just like I can’t keep talking and I have to fill the silence with stuff. I don’t feel like I’m burning from the inside out so I would call that a positive.” He smiled widely, his free hand flying everywhere showing his level of energy. “Man, I could really go for some sushi right now. Can we go to that new Japanese place downtown for dinner? Raw fish is like so unappetizing sounding but I really want some kalamari or shrimp, not that I’ve ever had either before but I’m really craving some now.”

He began to push up even more, about to throw his legs out from under the water then stopped when he realized he couldn’t feel them moving. He looked down to his waist and if his dad’s hand hadn’t tightened on his, Stiles would have thought he was still dreaming because where his legs used to be, there was a long golden-brown fish tail.

“Wha-oh-uh-ah-the hell? _Oh my god_.” Stiles spluttered, watching as the tail moved with his agitation. “Dad! Dad! What the fu-”

“Stiles.” His dad said sternly making him look at him. “Language. Calm down. It’s normal.”

“NORMAL?” His eyes widened as he flailed around in the tub, breaking his dad’s hold as he struggled to get out of the bathtub, trying to get away from the absurdness of the situation. “I’m part fish right now. How the hell is this normal? I have freaking scales, I have a freaking tail, _oh my god_ ,” he slapped a hand to his neck and his eyes got even bigger. “I have freaking giLLS! What the hell?” he asked, hands fisting in his hair and pulling at it.

His dad’s hands settled on his shoulder and held him down, squeezing at them firmly. “Stiles! Your mom had one!”  

Stiles’ entire body went cold and he literally froze in place. “Wha-What?”

Alek sighed, hands going gentle. “I’ll explain everything but first, we need to get your amulet working.” He said with a glance at the necklace around Stiles’ neck.

Stiles looked down and his hands came up and cradled the scale. It was the same shade as his other ones but it seemed more reflective.

“I want you to close your eyes.” He heard his dad say covering the scale with his hand, breaking his son’s trance. Stiles nodded, feeling like he needed to be quiet for this, and his eyes swept shut.

“Good. Uh, breathe deeply. In. Out. In. Out.” His dad’s hand settled on his chest, rising with each breath.  “That’s really good, son.”

Stiles couldn’t help the twitch of his lips at his dad’s attempt to speak like his yoga instructor at the Beacon Community College. Hey, don’t judge him. He was trying to get as many college hours he could down here because it was cheaper and it wasn’t like he was going to take P.E because apparently coach Finstock had a master’s in Physical Education and no way in hell was he putting himself through that abuse again. Not that Yoga wasn’t its own abuse but hey, he was a pretty _flexible_ kind of guy. Ha, Yoga joke.

_Focus._

Stiles immediately snapped back to his dad.

“Picture somewhere you feel safe. And once you picture that, imagine you’re there.”

Stiles’ immediate thought was the woods, which he found ironic considering that’s where most of the bad stuff in his life happened. Where Scott got bit, where most every bad guy stereotypically chased him through, where his mom had- Cutting that thought off, Stiles envisioned the meadow where the pack seemed to always meet up for pack meetings which now that he thought about it, actually had a view of the Lake. Erica and Boyd had been the first ones to find it. They been doing certain _activities_ that Erica was really not shy about sharing but for the sake of his sanity, he was definitely not going there mentally. It was a good size, not so large they couldn’t quickly scatter if needed and not too small that they were on top of each other. There was a fallen tree in the middle. Derek said it had been there for as long as he could remember. It had been struck by lighting and split exactly in half. He and his Mom had carved a bench into it before the Fire. It was surrounded by beautiful trees. He pictured himself laying in the middle of it, looking up at the sky.

His dad kept talking to him, making him even more relaxed until all the tension left his body. The sheriff urged him to imagine himself running through his safe place, imagine feeling the muscles in his legs, feeling the strain of the tendons. Slowly, he could feel warmth settle in his lower stomach then spread through his tail and felt his legs began to form again.

When he re-opened his eyes, his tail was gone and he was back to normal. He breathed out a sigh of relief then looked at his dad.

The sheriff sighed, running a hand over his face before giving his son a tired smile. “Seems like we need to have a conversation, huh?”

Stiles nodded, surprisingly not filled with the need to talk.

“I get off at 2 tomorrow. I’ll sign you out of class early and we can go to the Lake, okay?”

Stiles raised an eyebrow at that.

“It’s the easiest place to explain everything.” His dad answered his unspoken question. “You don’t have any tests do you?” At the shake of his head, his dad continued. “Good. I’ll meet you here at the house then we can go in the jeep.” His dad nodded, moving to get up from the floor. Stiles had just gotten out of the tub and wrapped a towel around his waist when his dad turned to look at him and he straightened.

“Stiles, I know you probably have so many questions and more than likely, you’re going to try to spend the entire night coming up with stuff and researching but please go to sleep. And,” The older man took a few steps forward then pulled Stiles into a tight embrace. “Just know that, no matter what, I love you, okay?”

            Stiles’ eyes pricked with tears and he hugged his dad tighter. “I love you too, dad.” 

            Both men sniffled then stepped away from each other.

“Okay,” His dad said snapping back to his usual self and grinning widely. “I’m expecting breakfast on the table tomorrow. Now go to bed, it’s a school night and you’ve already broken curfew.”

            “Wha-? Come on!” Stiles spluttered in outrage. “Dad, I got shot! I should get at least some leniency for that!”

            His dad snorted, walking out the door. “Stiles, I get shot at all the time. You never give me any leniency.”

            “That’s different!” Stiles insisted, scrambling after him.

            “Just go to bed, Stiles!”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm back from vacation and have access to Wi-Fi again. Yay!!!! 
> 
> Anyway, I told you i was working on chapter 4. Enjoy guys. I know I enjoyed writing it! ;D
> 
> (I honestly have no idea whats happening in this story at all. I'm just writing it as it comes. Also, there's a slight reference to On Fire but since I haven't read it either, you probably won't even see it. :D )

_Okay, I’m part fish now. I can totally rock this mother._ Stiles thought staring at himself in the mirror. He put a hand on his neck where his gills (oh, man, he had gills now because he was apparently the freakin’ cousin to Ariel. What was his life?) would be and could only feel smooth skin, thought it did seem to be more sensitive now. He shivered, pulling them away and shook himself.

 Just as the bell rang for his college bio class, he made it with two minutes to spare. Mrs. Danvers smiled at him and waited for him to take his seat before beginning her lecture about their dissection projects.

_Okay, just push it out of mind for now. It’ll be fine_

“Unfortunately due to a small error, we will be dissecting fish instead of frogs.” She said plopping a tray right in front of Stiles.

Cold dead lifeless eyes stared up at him. He groaned inwardly, hoping the rest of the day would be easier.

HA!

When has life ever been kind to Stiles Stilinski?

“Okay!” A shrill whistle cut through the pool room and everyone jumped. Coach Porter was standing there, smiling. “Since one of my best swimmers moved and Finstock’s out due to some virus thing, everyone’s going to try out for the swim team. We’ll be going in alphabetical order so hurry your asses up. And No Stilinski,” She cut him off as soon as the teen opened his mouth. “There’s no getting out of it unless you don’t know how to swim. Jacob Greenburg, get your ass to the stands.”

 _Fuck._ Stiles thought as all the guys were ushered to one of the dressing rooms and the girls into the other.

“Hey, you okay?” Scott asked, nudging him in the arm and looking concerned.

“Yeah!” He said with a fake smile and when Scott frowned, he lost it. He thought, quickly trying to come up with a reason for his anxiousness. He finally mumbled something about bad memories and judging by Scott’s guilty look, it was truthful enough to get past the walking lie detector in front of him.

“Dude, don’t worry about it. I’m totally chill with this. Besides,” he smiled at his friend. “You’ll get to see Allison in a bathing suit.”

Scott’s eyes went blank and Stiles just rolled his, throwing Scott’s Speedo at him. He was higher up on the attendance sheet so he was going to be one of the first up. Stiles flashed him a genuine smile when “McCall” rang out from the main room then it too disappeared when Scott ambled out. Stiles sighed and found a secluded spot near the back of the locker room. He could hear the other guys sniggering as he began to change but he was pretty much used to it by now. Hey, there was a reason he wore so many layers okay? And not just because it looked awesome. He knew what he looked like. Pale, skinny, weak. Yeah, having friends who each looked like underwear models just made him cover up more. He had muscle definition okay? It just wasn’t as visible at Scott’s or even Danny’s.

He sighed as he changed into the speedo that the school was kind enough to provide. He’s pretty sure whoever was doling them out was being a jackass because he had said he, uh, um, had needed a larger size because of reasons but the ones he got still felt like they were about three times too small. He winced trying to make it fit better. He had to keep up appearances if he was just going to jump in and pretend to drown.

Eventually, he heard “Stilinski” and let out a breath, shucking off his last t-shirt and walked out toward the main room. He took a deep breath before pushing the door open and steeling his gaze at the pool. He was so focused on it (and yes, damn it, he was actually capable of focusing and not letting all the tiny details of the room overwhelm him. It’s just he never applied himself to doing it) that he didn’t even notice all the girls and a few of the guys staring at him in open shock. Even the werewolves were amazed to see the pale teen’s actual body.

“Okay, Stilinski, Deal is, you’re going to swim 4 laps back and forward and I’ll time you then you’re done. Get ready to go.”

Stiles stepped up to the dive board and with all of his will, he started chanting. _No tail, No tail. Please sweet baby Jesus, don’t let me grow a tail._

“And GO!”                             

He pushed off from the board, hitting the water with a nearly perfect dive in. He started to doggy-paddle a bit and just as he was about to fake an injury, his head slipped underwater and it was like the sun had risen for the second time that day. His body propelled itself forward and it was the same rush he got from running in the woods. Exhilaration filled him and he began swimming faster. It was like his body was ecstatic that it was in the water, like he was Home. He flipped off the side and swam the next lap on his back, legs pumping the water. The minute his fingertips touched it, he was back off into the water, slicing through it like it was air.

Even before all this fish stuff happened, Stiles had been an awesome swimmer. His mom, when Stiles was little and his dad was working, always would take him to the pool. They’d spend the whole day there and it was almost perfect because he wasted all his energy and his mom loved going there. Now it made sense knowing what he knew. When Nereida (Stiles loved saying her name) got sick, they stopped going and funny enough, now that he was thinking about it, she started getting sick about the same time that new lifeguard (What had been her name? Kathy? Korina? Something with a K) had started working there.

  _Kate_.

 Stiles froze as he reached the side again. He panted against the edge of the pool, resting his head. Kathryn Argent. Kate, she’d been the lifeguard. Stiles could now remember all the times she had looked at the both of them with a weird hungry look in her eyes, like she had wanted to tear them piece to piece. Back then, he was too young to recognize it for what it was.

 “-ilinski. Stilinski. Stiles!” Coach Porter’s booming voice awoke from his little trip down memory lane and he jerked his head up and was surprised to see a lot of shocked faces above the water, including the Pack’s.

 He quickly looked down in horror and sighed in relief when he still had his legs. “Ma’am?” He asked, trying to catch his breath. Hey he could be polite. Momma didn’t raise no fool.

Coach Porter had the biggest grin he’d ever seen anyone do and it looked slightly manic and he knew manic.

“You just did 500 meters in-OH my god!” She actually squealed looking at the stop-watch in her hands. “Welcome to the Beacon Hills Swim Team, Stiles! I’ll talk to Finstock and the principal and get your schedule changed right away. We are so beating Beacon Heights this year at competitions.” She fist-pumoed the air and then blew her whistle. “Okay, all you other losers get your asses outta here and go to your other classes.” She turned back to him, grin still in place. “You,” she pointed at him and crooked her finger. “Go get changed. We got some things to discuss.”

Stiles stared at her as she walked away, gaping then looked at Scott and Isaac and shared a WTF look. He pulled himself out of the pool, dripping water and throwing his legs over till he was back on his own feet. Scott handed him a towel and he wiped his face off and wrapped it around his waist before looking at the two wolves.

“Wha-” Scott began to ask but the towel being pulled off cut him off. They all turned to look at Erica, heels clinking, as she let out a wolf-whistle and grinned widely at him, dangling the towel in her fingers.

“Knew there was a reason why I had a crush on you, _Stiles_.” She oozed pulling her phone and snapping a pic right as the flush overtook his body.

“Erica!” He squealed indignantly scrambling for the towel.

“Stilinski!” Coach Porter yelled from her office. “Go get changed. Office called. Your dad signed you out. Hurry up, so I can get you the paperwork and liability claims.”

 _Dad, you’re so getting steaks tonight._ He thought before hightailing it back to the locker rooms. Isaac was the only one who saw Erica’s evil smirk as she texted someone and smiled, toothily at him before grabbing his arm and dragging him off.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The ride to Hale Lake was quiet in the way the sea was calm before the storm. Still and Calm but with one small drop, it would turn into a Whirlpool or Tsunami.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry this took so long. I started classes so I've been really pre-occupied. 
> 
> This chapter turned out really angsty. I just had a lot of feels. Should get better in the next few chapters. Hopefully

The ride to Hale Lake was quiet in the way the sea was calm before the storm. Still and Calm but with one small drop, it would turn into a Whirlpool or Tsunami.

When his dad had said Jeep, Stiles automatically thought he meant Betty, the powder blue goddess but no, he meant The Jeep. The Jeep was similar to his, seemingly only different because of the paint job of mossy green, but had one thing his Betty could never have. The memory of his mom inside of her. He ran a slightly shaky hand over the console, smiling sadly when he found all of the old nicks and scratches he’d made, too excited to get to the pool. His dad noticed the movement out of his eyes and shared a soft smile with him.

“She loved this car so much, even though I begged her to choose something else.” Sheriff Stilinski snorted, moving one of his hands off the wheel to lean it against the window.

Both men went silent once more as they both remembered a beautiful women so full of life. Soon though, they were at the lake. His dad parked The Jeep and both men sat there in their seats for a few minutes before getting out of it. Stiles took a deep breath then turned to look at the spot where he’d been robbed and shot. He could still see where he’d bled on the ground, though it was smeared now and seemed like it had been trampled over.

He looked at his dad and he was in a similar position though he was looking at the middle of the lake. He caught Stiles looking and gave him a smile pointing over the lake.

“That’s where your mom and I first met. Your grandpa would bring me out here when I was your age and we’d go fishing. Sometimes, there would be scales floating in the water near the boat and I would scoop them up. Every time I did that, something else reached back.” He said fondly, holding on to the scale around his neck. “Stiles, I have to tell you something that may be hard to hear.”

Stiles couldn’t help but snort, plopping down on the shore. “Harder than realizing you can turn into a mythical creature that used to seduce sailors to their deaths and look like half fish humanoids?”

Alek huffed out a laugh and settled on the ground by him. “Well when you put it that way,” he grinned then turned somber again, reaching out for his shoulder. “Son, the Hales,” he struggled for words, looking back over the lake. “They weren’t exactly human.”

Stiles stiffened, shooting his dad a surprised look.

His dad, taking his shock as disbelief, continued. “I know it sounds crazy but you have to believe me. They were werewolves, which funny enough I think you would’ve like them.”

 _He Knows about the Pack???_ “You know about the Pack!?” Stiles asked, incredulously. All that time he’d been lying to his dad about everything, he could have just told him the truth and it would have been fine. He winced and cursed his lack of a filter.

His dad jerked back just as shocked as he was. “ _You_ know about the pack?”

“UH,” Stiles trailed off, speechless and honestly, having no idea what to say.

His dad’s eyes tightened but the elder Stilinski continued.

 “We’ll talk later. Something tells me it’s a long story. But since you apparently know, this may seem slightly more believable. The day your grandpa died. I came back to the lake because he asked me to put something in the water for him. I slipped out of the boat and hit the water. Before I passed out, I saw the most beautiful eyes I have ever and will ever see. They were your mother’s.” He said with a fond smile. “I still don’t remember what all happened but Talia and Allan Hale were the ones who pulled me out of the water. Your mother told me later how she had saved me. She fell in love with me that day and asked the Hales to help her try to find a way to live in our world. After a few months, they succeeded and she found me. When you came along, we were both so happy.” He said chuckling then his eyes turned sad and Stiles knew that look. “Y-Your birth had put a strain on whatever it was they had done to let her live on land.”

Stiles sucked in a breath, feeling like he’d been punched in the chest as tears began falling down his cheek. That night at Lydia’s party flashed to his mind and he shuddered. “M-Mom.” He sobbed and he slumped forward, his dad catching him with tears in his own eyes.

“Oh god. Stiles.” His dad choked out, grabbing his shoulders and holding him up so he could stare him in the eyes. “No! You were never the reason. She got sick. You didn’t have anything to do with that.”

They sat like that for what seemed like hours as Stiles broke down into his father’s chest as years of unsolved grief and pain was released. Eventually when the tears dried up and Stiles could breathe again, he pulled away from his dad wiping his eyes.

“D-Did she know about-?” He waved in the general direction of his legs.

“She wasn’t sure if you would get her, uh, genetics or not. That’s why we never told you.” His dad said straightening, rubbing at his eyes too. “She prepared for it, though and taught me what to do just in case. She has books and a chest. When we get home, I’ll bring it down from the attic and we-we can go through it together, okay?” He said putting his hand on Stiles’ shoulder and his son’s hand came up and covered it squeezing.

“Okay.” Stiles breathed, feeling completely wrung-out.

“You ready to go back?”

“I-” Stiles shook his head, staring across the lake. “I think I just need to sit here for a while.”

His dad nodded with sad eyes. “Do you want me to wait for you?”

He shook his head again. “No. I’ll walk back.” His dad just nodded and squeezed his shoulder again before getting up and moving away. He soon heard the jeep start up and then it was gone. He stood up himself, still looking at the lake then slipped out of his shoes and pants, wading into the water. It lapped at his feet as if it was trying to reach out and soothe him. He waded in farther and his muscles started to relax. He shed his shirt and then dived under the water, never seeing the pair of red eyes watching him from the tree line.


	6. Chapter 6

Just like before, the minute Stiles’ head was under the water, the same feeling he got when he was with his dad and Scott and Mama McCall and the others came flooding back. He was safe, loved, protected from everything. The Lake certainly wasn’t as clear as the pool was but his eyes quickly adjusted and it was like another world. He felt a tingle shoot through his legs and looked down. His tail was already beginning to form and his boxers were still on. He really had no clue about the whole transformation but he had a feeling that his clothes weren’t going to absorb into his skin or get sent to some weird plane of existence waiting till he changed back. He sighed, air bubbles escaping from his mouth and dude, wasn’t that awesome to see? He grinned for a second then remembered what was going on and tugged at his boxers. He could see the scales building higher and higher and he gave a growl and pulled. The boxers tore off just like that. He held up the remains of his boxers and his eyes widened in surprise.

_Shit. I did that? ___

That was when he noticed his fingers were almost glinting in the light. He flicked the fabric off then brought his fingers up to his eye line. He had claws. He grinned again, slashing at the water in front of him. He looked down as he felt a weight encircle his waist. His tail was fully formed now. He gave it an experimental flick and he accidentally propelled himself forward. He nearly brained himself on a rock but the feeling he had in doing it was exhilarating. 

_This is freakin’ awesome!_ He thought enthusiastically before doing it again. He laughed then twirled himself up and flipped in the water. 

Out of nowhere, there was a huge disturbance that rocked the water and he felt arms encircle his waist, pulling him up above the water. 

__He spun around, tail hitting a strong pair of legs and came face to face with the Alpha himself who was looking as gob-smacked as he felt._ _

__“Stiles?”_ _

__“Derek? Derek! What the hell?” Stiles groused, pushing the Alpha away from him, water sloshing around them._ _

__“I thought you were drowning, you idiot.” Derek growled, pushing back at him. “You were under for too long and you were thrashing around.”_ _

__“Well, Obviously I’m fine. You can go away now.” Stiles bit out, making an accompanying hand motion. He really didn’t feel like explaining the tail where his legs used to be._ _

__Derek growled again. “What did you do?” He demanded, reaching out the younger man._ _

__Stiles spun away from the hand reaching for him. “Why is it always my fault? For all you know, Deaton cursed me or something.”_ _

__Derek glowered and Stiles rolled his eyes._ _

__“Okay bad example considering he’s been gone for like 2 months now but still. My point stands. You guys always blame me for stuff that’s not even my fault.”_ _

__“You have a tail.” Derek stated. “You can’t tell me that’s normal for you.”_ _

__“Well apparently it is now.” Stiles bit out before turning tail and diving down, confident Derek wouldn’t follow him down and flicking his tail fin to make sure the alpha got a face full of water. He was correct in his assumption for about 10 seconds before he felt the vibrations in the water (which was so freaking cool) of Derek diving after him. Stiles propelled himself forward once more and so began their chase._ _

_Oh yeah! Suck it Derek. I have the advantage down here._

___Adrenaline rushed through him and he felt completely giddy with it. Finally, the puny little human had something other than being a Spark going for him. He twirled happily in the water, pretty much dancing his way out of the way of Derek’s grasp. He eventually breached the surface with a smile._ _ _

___“Ha. Finally beat you at your own game.”_ _ _

___He turned around but Derek hadn’t come up._ _ _

___“Derek?” He called out a few times before getting mad. “Derek, you asshole. This isn’t funny. Come up!”  
When the older man didn’t come up, the anger turned to panic. _ _ _

___“Derek!” He shouted diving back down into the water. While he could see better than most humans (and werewolves) now, he had no clue where Derek was. Derek. His mind screamed and the same warm and soothing voice he knew to be his mom’s came back._ _ _

___“Close your eyes, Styx. Close them and feel.” She urged and his eyes fell of their own accord.  
His body relaxed and suddenly, he could feel every movement in the water. Every lap at the shore, every twist of a fin and the feel of something struggling. He didn’t know how but in an instant, he knew exactly where Derek was and barreled through the water. The closer he got, the less he could feel struggling, that only added to his urgency. Finally, he found Derek. _ _ _

___“Derek!” He cried out seeing the Alpha dealing with some weird kind of plant that had dozen of extensions, similar to tentacles. Derek was still now as the tentacles swarmed around him, poking and prodding him.  
Stiles propelled himself forward, clawed fingers reaching out and tearing through the tentacles reaching for him. Eventually, he freed Derek but the alpha still wasn't moving so Stiles did the only thing he could think of and pressed his mouth to Derek’s, breathing life back into him._ _ _


End file.
